Indy Union Station is mostly closed to the public. About 1/4 of the train shed including the head house is rented from the city as the Crown Plaza Hotel at Union Station. Their website is here:
http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/h/d/cp/1/en/hd/INDDT?&. Some text from their site:
The Crowne Plaza at Historic Union Station- Indianapolis Hotel. is housed within "America's first union station" and listed in the National Register of Historic Places. Our Romanesque Revival-style hotel features 273 truly unique and spacious guestrooms, Pullman's Restaurant and Lounge and over 50,000 sq ft of versatile conference space to meet all your needs.
Wer'e best known for our 26 authentic Pullman TrainCar sleeping rooms named and decorated after famous personalities from the early 1900's. Another popular feature of the hotel is the white fiberglass ghost travelers dressed in period clothing, and still lovingly haunting the premises. Located in the heart of Downtown Indianapolis, we're adjacent to the Indiana Convention Center and RCA Dome, home of the Indianapolis Colts. We are just moments away from everything including Conseco Fieldhouse, Circle Centre Mall, The Indianapolis Zoo & White River Gardens and the NCAA Hall of Champions. We're also minutes from a vast array of eateries, nightclubs, art venues & other attractions.
We like to keep our guests informed that our hotel is still an active railroad station and trains pass through on a regular schedule. The muffled rumbling and subtle vibrations of the trains as they roll through the building enhances the ambiance of staying in our hotel, where you can experience the authenticity of a living railroad station.
What they refer to is the other 1/2 of the train shed which has one track of I think 4 that is used as CSX's main line through the city (the furthest track away from the headhouse). The is one other track of the 4 that is used by Amtrack as their station track. All other tracks are gone with the exception of the 2 tracks used by the Crown Plaza Hotel for their Pullman Car rooms. The rooms are interesting in concept, but a dissapointment as they look just like any other hotel room when inside the railcar. Personally I would have loved to at least see some original pullman fixtures in the rooms. The other 1/4 of the shed is what used to be the mall, but now is used for various things such as a Mexican Resturant, the Mexican Consulate (yes, thats not a mis-print), and an alternative school for children. The only thing really worth looking at is the head house itself. You sometimes can sneak in there when the Hotel is setting up for functions. If you get inside, make sure to see the object that the designer Thomas Rodd hid in the building (as was his signature with every building he built). At Union Station, it was a male phalux symbol which can be found if you climb the northwest stairway I think on the second floor. The stairway is located right at the main entrance to the building, make a right and go up those stairs. I got to see it myself when I helped set the headhouse up for the original 1st Indy Grand-Prix ball. The clock has been broken for some years and is inacessable as the stairwell up to it has been condemned. Ever since the railroad abandoned it, the City of Indianapolis has been trying to find uses for the building as it costs them thousands a year to upkeep and has generally been a thorn in the cities side, draining its funds. The Indiana Transportation Museum attempted in the 80's to plan and fund a train museum out of Union Station but failed to come up with a viable plan. I have been told by some of the building maintenance personel that the station is haunted. Nearby you should also take a look from afar at the original switch tower just east of the train shed. If you park in the Union Station garage, you can see it to the east just down the track next to Conseco Fieldhouse. I would not venture onto the tracks as you might get arrested by the railroad police for tresspassing. Indy is still teeming with railroad landmarks which can be seen if you are really looking for them. My favorite has to be the original Nickel Plate dispatch building off of South Scioto St. just west of Conceco Fieldhouse. If you go north up Pennsylvania St., look at the building on the left as you exit from under the raised tracks. You will notice an odd "cut out" of the south side of the building and an obvious entrance hole that has been bricked up streetside. This was for a track that acutally entered the cut out in the buiding. I think there is a wharehouse in the building now. Hope this answers your question.
